#bikeshipping

Bikeflights was represented by four Ambassadors, including Tina Beecham, Jessica Brunson and Diana Hildebrand all in person and Kecia McCullough joining virtually. 

Vice President Sue George also made the trip to the nation’s capital.

Held over three days at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and on Capitol Hill, the Summit’s energy was overwhelmingly positive. It turns out that now is a good time for bike advocacy. You can see it by simply riding around Washington, DC, where like many other parts of the country, there are increasingly more protected bike lanes, dedicated trails and paths and many other infrastructure improvements that have been proven to increase rider safety, like rumble strips and better lighting and signage.

And the momentum continues with recent infrastructure bills promising more funding to come to states and localities everywhere. Of course, there’s still plenty more work to be done. We were all reminded of a sobering statistic: there’s been a 55% increase in cycling fatalities in the US in the past 10 years.

On opening day, we especially enjoyed the presentation by Veronica O. Davis, author of “Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities.” Davis believes everyone should have access to safe, reliable and affordable transportation, and she shared some of her first-hand experiences creating more such opportunities while working for the City of Houston as the Director of Transportation & Drainage Operations. Davis painted a candid picture of what it’s really like to be on the administrative side of bike advocacy, something useful for bike advocates to better understand as they work with other administrators in similar situations.

Perhaps the most entertaining speaker was Shailen Bhatt, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). With his witty sense of humor, Bhatt made us laugh, even while sharing info about The Active Transportation Infrastructure & Investment Program (ATIIP) and how the FHWA encourages the implementation of projects and programs to improve safety, equity and accessibility for all road users, especially through Complete Streets Planning.

Another big highlight was getting to see our very own Bikeflights Ambassador Diane Hildebrand receive an award upon being named “Educator of the Year” by the League of American Bicyclists. Congratulations to Diane!

The second – or middle day – of the Summit was what is called “Lobby Day.” That’s when Summit attendees swap out their bike shoes and helmets for business attire and meet with their respective Senators and Representatives or their staff to advocate for bills and initiatives that will create a more bicycling-friendly America. 

As we rode bikes and walked around Washington, we were treated to the sight of blooming cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin and everywhere. Mother Nature may have brought peak bloom a week or two prematurely this year, but her timing worked out to be perfect for us to enjoy.

Our big takeaway from this year’s National Bike Summit is that the most important thing is to simply show up. Again and again. We were reminded by retiring Oregon Senator Earl Blumenauer and Washington Area Bicyclist Association Advocacy Director Jeremiah Lowery that nothing ever happens to make cycling better and safer if no one shows up. 

So while not everyone can take the time or afford the expense of traveling to Washington to lobby their members of Congress for bills that fund cycling infrastructure improvements, there’s a lot we can all do locally…  such as filling out surveys to give rider input about proposed local transportation projects, attending your city or county meetings and getting involved in your local advocacy group.

Bikeflights -- an official service of the Tour de France -- is excited to once again partner with our longtime friends and collaborators, Jered and Ashley Gruber, to celebrate the Tour de France!

For years, the Grubers have captured the spirit, beauty and excitement of the Tour through their iconic photography. To celebrate our partnership and the world's biggest bike races, we're giving away three Gruber Tour prints during the Tour de France.

To enter, complete this short survey -- no purchase necessary. Your feedback helps us better understand our customers and improve the Bikeflights experience. Winners (one each) will be announced on July 13, 20 & 27, 2026. 

Good luck, and thanks for being part of the Bikeflights community!

We're excited to announce the launch of built-in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking on our bike shipments, making Bikeflights the first bicycle shipping company to bring the technology to riders. Previously limited to critical healthcare shipments like organs and vaccines, our RFID service is a close collaboration with UPS, bringing top-tier tracking to cyclists across the country. Unlike a traditional barcode tracking number that goes quiet between updates, or a consumer device that only the sender can see, RFID gives the customer, Bikeflights and the shipping carrier the same near-real-time view of a bike’s progress.

RFID labels use a tiny embedded chip and radio waves to identify and track a shipment without an onboard battery or power source. Unlike a traditional barcode, which has to be lined up and scanned one at a time on a belt, an RFID label can be read wirelessly and from a distance, even when it isn’t directly visible or if the parcel is too big to fit on conveyors. As a tagged shipment passes an RFID reader in the carrier’s network, the reader activates the chip and captures its unique ID automatically, so the bike is identified, sorted and tracked more quickly and accurately at every point the label is read.

Because those reads happen inside the carrier’s own operations, the resulting location data isn’t something the rider watches from the outside. It’s the same operational data the carrier and Bikeflights use to move and route the shipment with each scan feeding the customer’s Bikeflights shipment status page, so riders see meaningful, location-stamped progress instead of long silent gaps. The result is true end-to-end visibility and faster problem-solving across the entire journey, not just a string of scans.

"Shipping a bike is an exercise in trust, and riders want to track exactly where their bike is at any time," said William Alcorn, President of Bikeflights. "Embedding RFID into the way we already handle and scan packages means everyone in the chain: the rider, our team and the carrier, is looking at the same information. That shared visibility builds confidence into the shipment itself, from the moment the box leaves until it arrives at the door."

For riders shipping within the US, built-in RFID tracking means:

Near-real-time pickup confirmation

Greater visibility and transparency as a shipment moves through the carrier network

Fewer disruptions and faster resolution if an issue arises

More reliability and confidence that a shipment will arrive on time

A stronger chain of custody for added peace of mind

The rollout arrives in time for this summer’s RAGBRAI in mid-July, where we will provide RFID-enabled labels to participating riders shipping bikes to and from the ride.